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Chinese President Xi Jinping Visits Vietnam

by VOA News

   Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Vietnam Tuesday on a mission to
   improve ties between the Asian Communist neighbors and counter Hanoi's
   increasing outreach to Western nations.

   President Xi and his wife Peng Liyuan were greeted at the Hanoi airport
   by Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh at the start of Xi's
   two-day trip, his first to Vietnam since 2017. He will hold meetings
   with President Vo Van Thuong, Prime Minister Chinh and other Vietnamese
   officials, and will sign a number of economic cooperation agreements,
   including upgrading existing railway links.

   Xi's visit comes three months after Hanoi granted its highest
   diplomatic status, "comprehensive strategic partnership," to the United
   States during President Joe Biden's official visit.

   China and Vietnam have been close ideological and economic allies for
   years, but relations have become strained by Beijing's increasingly
   aggressive moves in the South China Sea, as it claims sovereignty over
   numerous islands in the region despite competing claims from its
   neighbors.

   In an article published in Vietnam's state-owned newspaper, President
   Xi proclaimed that "Asia's future is in the hands of no one but
   Asians."